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The latest ‘incident’ is more evidence that the Council's Chief Executive doesn’t seem to care about the rights of the public of East Renfrewshire. She should go.

Chief Executive Lorraine McMillan

East Renfrewshire Council has lost almost a quarter of a million pounds of taxpayers’ money.

Lorraine McMillan East Renfrewshire Council's Chief Executive attempted to hide from public view the fact it has made more than £1.2 million in over payments to external companies, and has so far only managed to recover part of the cash.

It has now been forced to mark £213,658 of cash as “irrecoverable”.

A report was prepared for the elected members but a 'gagging' order was placed on them by Lorraine McMillan.

She used legislation that was created to protect disclosure of 'legal advice' when a council is considering legal action, or criminal action is being deliberated by the police. However neither of these apply in this instance.

This is not the first time that Lorraine McMillan has invoked this legislation in circumstances that many thought to be dubious to say the least.

On being questioned in the chamber, where the press and the public were excluded, the chief executive admitted that there was going to be no civil action and she was not going to involve the police.

Therefore the 'gagging' order was wholly inappropriate and could only have been put in place to prevent the public from becoming aware of the shortcomings of the council.

What Lorraine McMillan wished to conceal from the public was that ERC had overpaid £1.2 million pounds to three companies.

Now £213,658 of tax payers’ money has been required to be completely written off by ERC.

This is not the first time that Lorraine McMillan has been accused of disregarding the public of East Renfrewshire.

Refusing requests from an elected member, a community council and residents to instruct her staff to prosecute an individual who was operating an unlicensed house of multiple occupancy, giving rise to accusations of partiality.

Instructing staff not respond to or recognise a group of community councillors who set up, as per Scottish Government guidance, a community councillors forum.

Instigating actions that allegedly denied a resident their human rights.

It’s become tedious, this saga of Lorraine McMillan treating the public with apparent disdain.

The £123,257 (2010 / 11) salaried Chief Executive should do the decent thing, and resign.